It’s Week 1 and I don’t care what Washington coach Chris Petersen says, the eyes of the college football world are smack dab on the Huskies.

A season-opener featuring No. 6 Washington vs. No. 9 Auburn in Atlanta would be big in any year, but the game carries more weight because of the declining reputation of the Pac-12. The conference of champions hasn’t had a lot to celebrate when it comes to football, and last year’s down season — punctuated by an abysmal 1-8 bowl record — made it even worse. That’s the worst postseason record ever produced by a conference.

The Pac-12 has failed to qualify a team for the College Football Playoff two of the last three years. Oregon was the last team to win a playoff game, in 2014. Washington lost in the semifinals in 2016.

Do you remember the last Pac-12 national champion? USC won a Bowl Championship Series title in 2004, and the Trojans had to vacate that one after breaking NCAA rules.

At this level, getting to the playoffs and winning a championship should be the goal, right?

The experienced and talented Huskies are viewed by most as the conference’s only legit hope of qualifying for the playoffs this year, and they can make a make a statement against Auburn. A win will not only set the Dawgs up for a run at a national title, but it would be huge for a conference that has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the Power Five conferences.

For gawd sakes, the first quarter of last year’s Washington-Stanford game didn’t even make it on TV as FS1 decided that watching the finish of a NASCAR truck race was more important. Yeah, it was that kind of year for the Pac-12, which found itself without a national playoff contender halfway through the season.

Auburn, rugged defensively, is a 1½-point favorite against Washington, mostly because it is playing in its backyard in Georgia.

Chuck Stark(Photo: -)

“I look at Auburn on defense and it seems very Alabama-ish to me,” UW’s Petersen said during a press conference this week.

Auburn beat Alabama — and Clemson — a year ago. Not many programs can claim they did that in a single season.

Petersen likes the underdog role, but the coach predictably and understandably, downplayed the importance of the game as it pertains to Washington’s national-title hopes and image of the Pac-12.

“This is one game. This is us playing Auburn,” Petersen said. “We’re aren’t playing their whole conference. The rest of the Pac-12 has nothing to do with this game right now. To put all of this on us, we have to see how the season plays out …

“They understand they’re playing a really good team going in from a really good conference … but we can’t make it bigger than it is.”

Petersen is consistent with his message. I attended a luncheon at Husky Stadium earlier this month (he was introduced as Washington’s version of Bear Bryant or Vince Lombardi and he looked at the MC and said, “That’s the worst introduction I’ve ever had.”) and Petersen talked about the opener being “just one game.” Win or lose, they’ll move on. It won’t define their season, he said.

A lopsided loss might. If they lose, and look bad, the Pac-12 might not recover, at least not in the eyes of those who think college football doesn’t exist west of the Rocky Mountains.

There’s a lot riding on this game. It’s been suggested that it might be the biggest opening game in Washington history.

Hyperbole? Maybe, but even if it’s true, Washington should be able to handle the pressure. This is a seasoned bunch, and they certainly passed the eye test while attending a recent practice. Washington has 12 senior starters, including quarterback Jake Browning, who has played in more big games than any QB in Husky history; Myles Gaskins, who needs 52 yards to surpass Napoleon Kaufman as Washington’s all-time leading rusher; and both starting tackles, NFL prospects Trey Adams and Kaleb McGary.

Those guys have been starting since showing at Montlake as freshmen. The UW returns eight starters on offense; nine on defense. The offensive line and defensive secondary are among the best in the nation. There isn’t a true freshman on the depth chart (two deep) released this week.

What’s not to like about their chances against Auburn?

Well, Washington is 1-8 against the SEC since 1975, and Auburn probably has as much, if not more talent, than the Huskies.

Sorry, Coach Pete. This isn’t just another game. This is a chance to show that Washington’s a legit national contender, and that the Pac-12 is back.

Chuck Stark is the former sports editor of The Sun. Reach him at chuckstark00@gmail.com.